Introduction
Members of the Very Bad Bike Club (VBBC) are responsible for perpetuating various criminal activities within the Virtual area including conspiracy to manufacture and sell illegal drugs as well as activities in the criminal enterprise. Virtual Police Department investigations have made certain that there are strong grounds to arrest all the members of the VBBC and charge them for the crimes mentioned above and other individual criminal violations. Since the case falls under the community-based prosecution framework, building a successful case against the gang requires the combined effort of the prosecutor and other agencies in the Virtual criminal justice system. All the agencies arrived at a consensus that the VBBC case will be pursued on two fronts; follow up on the current police investigation and ensure successful prosecutions and collaborative action to reduce crime in Virtual. As the prosecutor, in this case, my role will involve building a strong case against the gang members in court. Consequently, traditional and practical approaches will apply as well as determining the reasons for reluctance to change approaches which led to failed prosecutions in the past. Finally, I will assess the motivations that will be necessary to effect new approaches.
What are the traditional and practical approaches for the agency’s dealing with the problem?
The traditional approach to prosecution is hinged on the basic roles of the prosecutor to investigate crimes, make decisions on merit for prosecution and appear in court to prove the crime. This traditional approach places the prosecutor’s office adjacent to the court where he or she goes through files and assesses the possibility of success with previous cases before making decisions regarding prosecutions (Miles, 2013). Under this traditional approach, the prosecutor would compare evidence with that of the two other sweeps that were conducted against VBBC before making a decision. This technique is flawed since it would lead to another failure owing to the results of the previous attempts. A practical approach to prosecution is the community prosecution where the prosecutor works in collaboration with other enforcement agencies and the local community (Miles, 2013). This practical approach will involve collaboration with the Virtual Police Department who are responsible for investigations into the VBBC case, the security chief at the state correctional facility, the Virtual area locals where the gang runs its activities and all other relevant people and agencies involved in the case. For instance, “Tripper” who is a member of the Pole family is suspected of distributing marijuana to her schoolmates. As the prosecutor, efforts to stop her activities will involve the school administration who are members of the Virtual community. Importantly, efforts to bring down the VBBC also involve reduction of crime in the Virtual, therefore, involving these stakeholders is crucial for the success of the process.
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Why is/has there been a reluctance to change approaches/strategies?
Rigidity in the strategies in prosecuting members of the VBBC is partly to blame for previous failures. This reluctance to change emanates from the traditional expectations that peers, partners and other stakeholders have on the prosecutor. The prosecutor is often viewed as an avenger and maintainer of the law as opposed to being an enhancer who ensures that the system provides justice. This rigidity in perceptions has the effect of prosecutors pursuing cases with the aim of ensuring jail time while overlooking key aspects that would result in the offenders being justly held responsible for their actions. Reluctance to change strategies is also contributed to by inefficiencies in the criminal justice systems. Factors such limited time to investigate and prosecute cases in court and crowding in jails hinder the process. Resultantly, prosecutors either present weak cases that have little chance of success or are forced into plea-bargained agreements like in the two previous sweeps.
Corruption is also a hindrance to the application of new strategies to prosecution. An investigation revealed that correctional officers attempted to smuggle cellphones to "Little Buddy". Although it is impossible to determine the extent of the corrupt dealings between VBBC members with law enforcement offers, it is certain that corruption withers down the evidence from investigations. As a result, prosecutors are presented with weak evidence hence forcing them to apply traditional methods that do not wield appropriate results.
What motivations would be required to affect a different approach or strategy?
Indeed, new motivations are required in prosecuting all the members of the VBBC. The primary motivation is the failure of the two previous attempts. Prosecuting a looser case is not an option this time. Detectives gathering evidence for the case require skills to establish probable cause, procedures for interrogation that produce proper evidence and appropriate charging (Case Study, n.d). Complacency in this section will lead to the prosecution of weak cases and inevitable failure.
Innovation in prosecution is a new trend that has the ability to reduce crime within communities and improve the success of prosecutors as crime preventers (LaBahn, 2015). Efficacy of innovative practices in prosecution can be established through the ability of the prosecutor to come up with objectives of the strategy and implement it according to the objectives and the goals. The objectives, in this case, are to bring down the VBBC and reduce crime rates in the Virtual area. The problem solver approach is appropriate for this situation. The problem solver identifies crime at its source and works out methods to eliminate the crime. Robert "Buddy" Pole is the main source of crimes perpetrated by VBBC by virtue of him being the president of the gang. Thus, building a strong case against him will destabilize the gang. Another source of crime is "Tripper" who has an influence on her young friends hence ending her influence will undoubtedly reduce crime in Virtual.
References
Case Study. (n.d). The virtual criminal justice alliance....Background Information
LaBahn, D. (2015). Decision points: Pursuing innovation in prosecution . Safety and justice challenge . Retrieved on 11 July 2018, from
http://www.safetyandjusticechallenge.org/2015/09/decision-points-pursuing-innovation-in-prosecution/
Miles, T. J. (2013). Does the “community prosecution” strategy reduce crime? A Test of Chicago's Experience. American law and economics review , 16 (1), 117-143.
